Justine Washington (born October 13, 1940), usually credited as Baby Washington, but credited on some early records as Jeanette (Baby) Washington, is an American

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, who had 16 '' Billboard'' R&B chart entries in 15 years, most of them during the 1960s. Her biggest hit, "That's How Heartaches Are Made" in 1963, also entered the Top 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Life and career

Washington was born in Bamberg,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, United States, and raised in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York. In 1956, she joined the vocal group

the Hearts The Jaynetts were an American girl group based in the Bronx, New York, who became a one-hit wonder in 1963 with the song "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Career Beginnings In 1954, Bronx-native ...

, and also recorded for J & S Records as a member of

the Jaynetts The Jaynetts were an American girl group based in the Bronx, New York, who became a one-hit wonder in 1963 with the song "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Career Beginnings In 1954, Bronx-native Ze ...

("I Wanted To Be Free"/"Where Are You Tonight", J&S 1765/6). She first recorded solo, as Baby Washington, in 1957, on "Everyday" (J&S 1665). In 1958, she signed to Donald Shaw's

Neptune Records Neptune Records was a record label founded by Philadelphia writer-producers, William Dunst and Leon Huff in 1969. The label, distributed by Chess Records, lasted for only two years, releasing 20 singles and three albums. It was the precursor to t ...

as a solo performer, and established herself as a soul singer with two hits in 1959: "The Time" (

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

R&B No. 22) and "The Bells" (U.S. R&B No. 20). She followed up with the hit "Nobody Cares" (U.S. R&B No. 17) in 1961. Several of her

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

on the Neptune and ABC labels were credited to Jeanette (Baby) Washington, which later led to confusion with an entirely different singer known as

Jeanette Washington Jeanette Washington is a funk vocalist best known as a member of the band Parliament. Washington appeared as a background singer on recordings by James Brown in 1975. That year she joined Parliament with Debbie Wright, becoming the first femal ...

. She signed with

ABC Paramount ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in 1961, but her two releases for the label were not hits, although the self-written "Let Love Go By" later became a notable Northern soul single. Washington then moved to

Juggy Murray Juggy Murray (November 24, 1923 – February 8, 2005) was an American record label owner, producer and singer-songwriter. He co-founded Sue Records which launched the career of Ike & Tina Turner. Subsidiary labels under the Sue were Symbol, B ...

Sue Records ''Sue Records was also the name of a Louisiana-based record company which owned Jewel Records (Shreveport record label).'' Sue Records ("The Sound of Soul") was an American record label founded by Henry 'Juggy' Murray and Bobby Robinson in 1957. ...

in 1962, scoring her only entry on the U.S. '' Billboard''

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

with "That's How Heartaches Are Made" in 1963. Two years later, she hit again on the U.S. R&B Top 10 with "Only Those In Love". Among her other Sue recordings were "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face", co-

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of ...

and Jerry Ragovoy, and "Careless Hands", penned by

Billy Myles William Myles Nobles (August 29, 1924 – October 9, 2005), known as Billy Myles, was an American R&B songwriter and singer active in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for writing "Tonight, Tonight" recorded by The Mello-Kings, "(You Were Mad ...

. Washington revived her career in the early 1970s covering

the Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

' "Forever" (No. 30 R&B) as a duet with

Don Gardner Donald Gardner (May 9, 1931 – September 4, 2018) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, and drummer. His records included the 1962 pop hit " I Need Your Lovin'", with Dee Dee Ford. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Gardner star ...

. Her solo release, "I've Got To Break Away", made number 73 on the R&B chart, after which the advent of disco led to a decline in her popularity. She has never experienced great crossover recognition, although

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

once cited Washington as her all-time favorite singer, and recorded "That's How Heartaches Are Made" and "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face". Biography at MLC Cruises
Retrieved 18 January 2013 Washington is still active as a live performer, appearing several times a year on the East Coast and performing on cruise ships. She also performed at the

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that ...

Soul Weekender festival in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

in 2004. Prestatyn Soul Weekender: Historic highlights
. Retrieved 18 January 2012 She performed with the Enchanters at a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

-area show in March 2008, and in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in June 2008. Washington was among the 2008 honorees in Community Works' Ladies Singing the Blues music series.

Discography

Chart singles

Note: Credited as Baby Washington unless stated otherwise.

Original studio albums

* ''That's How Heartaches Are Made'' (1963) Sue Records * ''Only Those in Love'' (1965) Sue Records * ''With You in Mind'' (1968) Veep Records (VPS 16528) * ''Lay a Little Lovin' on Me''—duet album with

(1973) * ''I Wanna Dance'' (1978) AVI Records (AVI 6038)

Compilation albums

* ''I've Got a Feeling'' (June 2005) Released by Stateside Records any songs featured are on CD for the first time with this release

References

External links

* All Music Biography*
Baby Washington singles
* ttp://www.oldies.com/artist-view/Baby-Washington.html Justine "Baby" Washington via oldies.com* Huston, Bruce. Baby Washington Part Two: Her Soul Years. ''Soul Survivor'' magazine No. 10 (Spring 1989;

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

). Washington clears up confusion with

on page 15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Baby 1940 births Living people American soul musicians American women singers People from Bamberg, South Carolina Chess Records artists Sue Records artists 21st-century American women